Blah.blah.blog

2011-06-29T22:46:00.003-06:00

This is really hard to write but I know some nurses in Ohio look at this blog and I just want them to know what has happened. Our beautiful little boy Ethan passed away January 22, 2011. He was doing really well and had had a great life considering all his health problems and physical handicaps. He started having some airway issues and lots of seizures in December. He passed away in the middle of the night from most likely seizures at home, unexpectedly. We are devastated and trying to piece our lives back together, although it will never be the same without our little red head. Kaden talks about Ethan everyday and misses him so much. Lizzy uses Ethan's sign that he used when his feelings were hurt. We never taught it to her, so its so sweet she picked it up from him. Ethan was doing so great before December, he was walking in a walker, signing and talking so much more than he ever had. He was in preschool had friends there that treated him like a little boy. We just bought a house that was one level and put wood floors in for him so he could wheel around the house and he used his walker all the time in it. He had amazing therapists, he was in horse therapy which he loved and helped him, and we had just got this cool computer that he was using to say more words for him then he could say. We miss him so much. Thank you to the nurses that helped get Ethan to the point where he was at because he really enjoyed life in his last couple of years- swimming, biking, playing soccer in his walker, and just having him be able to do things that were as close to being a normal kid as possible. This video of Ethan was of his last week with us and this is the first time he walked in his walker without anyone pushing him from behind, my mom always said he would walk and i guess in a way he did.

2010-10-17T17:56:00.003-06:00

My Boys turned FIVE this week and I am so happy for them they had a great birthday! Kaden got his dreams fulfilled...friends, bakugon toys, a pillow pet, guns, and a pinata party! Ethan was a little scared of the pinata..note to self don't do pinatas for Ethan.. but he loved the hotwheels car ramp, ball, radio, and friends got him a super sweet machine gun that he sleeps with and wakes up with. I feel like its been 20 years since I had the boys but it has only been 5, crazy. Anyway I am a little sick with a cold, the house is a mess and I have to stop being so lazy and get back to work, I will start tomorrow as Mondays tend to push you into doing things you really don't feel like doing. I will post some pics of the birthday when I get another second.

2010-03-15T21:36:00.007-06:00

Lizzy's photo shoot (a.k.a. our fun after church taking pictures of lizzy)
The butterfly pavilion- first trip to somewhere fun with all three by myself-- went pretty well
The right is Ethan's new kid walk to the left Kaden's favorite thing--playing in ET's wheelchair
Lizzy is 4 months old and she is getting big so fast, she is darling and if it weren't for her little blow-outs three times a day I would say she is the perfect baby :) Kaden is enjoying the lovely denver weather by going to the park with his little buddies. Classic phrase this week would be when he told Justin and I to choose the right when we were bickering... love it! Ethan got a walker and loves it. He is able to stand up at the kitchen table and walk when pushed from behind, he is saying "out" and "more" and lots of other words, kind of hard to understand but heck he is trying. Justin is working hard, but kind of a chill month this month he will be done with residency July 1st. He got a job in Wheat Ridge as a hospitalist (adult medicine-- only works in the hospital, no clinics and they do shifts about 12 hour days, 15 days a month) I am busy cleaning up blow outs and feeding children, besides that I get to go to an occasional girls night make a fool of myself and call it a night. I am also reading Alice in Wonderland recommended to me by a great friend and I have to say it is just as crazy as can be.. I am enjoying it. An old friend moved back in the neighborhood and it has been so nice having her and her family back. Blessed to have my family and the gospel of Jesus Christ in my life. We are taking Ethan to see an orthopedic specialist at Shriners about a hip surgery that we were told Ethan needs but we wanted a second opinion. So if Ethan needs this its going to be miserable for all parties involved... so we shall see. That sums up the blah blah blog of the tanner family for the last couple months. Have a great week and hopefully it will warm up and be nice wherever you are!

2009-11-13T17:41:00.002-07:00

So let's see more details... Had a VBAC loved it, much better than the c-section, but I did have a fabulous epidural that lasted the whole 13 hours of labor. She weighed 8 1bs 13 oz, I would have posted her cute nude picture on the the scale, but I read an Ensign article from church about being careful what you post on the internet because it will be on FOR-EV-ER and your kids might be extremely embarrassed later of the pics you posted of them. Anyway we stayed a couple nights in the hospital, we have great supportive friends that watched the boys. Of course the night before we were coming home Ethan had to go to the ER for a quick visit for his breathing... scaring my friend and just added to the fun and chaos. He is fine, just needed some medication. Anyway my parents came for a week and they are always so helpful and wonderful, I definitely feel the after affects of the baby were more painful then the delivery (with the epidural). Anyway nursing is soooo much better then pumping. Also, bringing Lizzy home from the hospital I felt like I was stealing her because of all the time the boys stayed in the hospital it just didn't feel right, but of course it was and has been so fun being a regular mom and baby combo. Thanks for all the congrats we feel so blessed, and the boys do love her, Kaden calls her a cutie and Ethan watches very closely as to what I am doing with her. Have a Happy Thanksgiving!

She's Arrived!

2009-11-07T21:57:00.005-07:00

Elizabeth Anne Tanner arrived November 1st, we just love her and are having a blast with her.

We're 4 and we're loving every minute of it!

2009-10-21T10:42:00.004-06:00

Pumpkin patch at Chatfield botannical gardens

Yummy birthday Cakes!
Party with the family!
Ethan's preschool birthday!
Kaden's preschool birthday!
Ethan's preschool birthday, his teacher made the boys the hats--super cute!

The boys turned 4, they had a great birthday week full of cake, more sugar, and toys! Kaden got a nerf gun and Ethan got another sword and they both got toy motorcycles they love.

The HUGE belly

2009-09-26T20:51:00.007-06:00

So I have actually really enjoyed being pregnant despite the continual nausea in the morning, I have just really been grateful to make it so far. I am about 35weeks now. Justin has had an amazing schedule, home on weekends, going to church as a family, can't ask for more than that. Right now Justin is applying for jobs in Internal Medicine the position is called a hospitalist. He has four job offers and so now we just have to figure out which one. 3 are in the denver area and one is up in Loveland, colorado. So that means next year July we are officially done with the medical program stuff! Ethan is in preschool four days a week 1/2 day, he is really enjoying it and learning a lot. Kaden is in twice a week for just a couple hours but he absolutely loves it and is also having a blast learning. So that is it, just excited to see our baby-to-be and hope that everyone is doing really well Happy Fall!

2009-07-28T22:35:00.006-06:00

Pics of the summer we have been swimming, bike riding, our last event was the arapahoe county fair, what a great summer!

2009-06-12T23:48:00.002-06:00

IT'S A GIRL!!!! We are having a girl and we are really excited of course if it were a boy we would be equally excited, but I think we need some more estrogen in this little family! Ethan had to go to the hospital again and have scar tissue removed, but he is now doing really well again.... so we are just hoping no more will come back. Kaden is hilarious and for those of you who find this disgusting, I am sorry in advance....Kaden pooped in the potty at the hospital in Ethan's room and came out and said, "I did a pine cone poop!" it truly did look as such and Justin and I were laughing about it all night.

MIRACLE

2009-05-23T07:07:00.003-06:00

We have definitely had a miracle. So Ethan continued to struggle breathing for a month. He has had a really hard time since they closed the trach hole(hole in his neck). On Thursday he was looking bad working really hard to breath. So I took him right in. They admitted him to the hospital and the surgeon was about 90% sure that they were going to have to put the trach back in. It was just not working, the poor kid could not breath. Justin and I were devastated. Putting the trach back in ( its a plastic peice that would go into his neck to help him breath, he had this for 2 1/2 years, it is hard on Ethan because he can't really make noises with it in, its difficult to eat with it in, and for me its like adding 10 times the work, it requires suctioning, more medical equipment, emergency equipment) would be taking leaps backwards for Ethan. So Ethan has had multiple blessings this month and Justin said he felt that things were going to be okay, but Ethan was obviously having breathing issues, but we knew Heavenly Father can make anything possible. So the surgeon took him back into surgery . We were really depressed and I was really shaken up about having the trach back in our lives. So as we were desperately praying in our hearts that by some miracle they would not have to put the trach back in, the Dr called the waiting room. Justin was talking with him and Justin was not jumping up and down, but he wasn't looking extremely sad. Then he looks over at me and mouths "no trach"!!!! Holy amazing!!! I couldn't help but cry I was so excited! The surgeon came out and showed us the pictures of Ethan's airway. There was a huge piece of scar tissue that formed right after they closed the hole in April and the doctor said he could remove it easily. The scar tissue was pretty much taking up his whole airway. So he is recovering in ICU today and Justin is there with him. My sweet parents came up to help us out and we are just overjoyed that Ethan does not have a trach at this time. This really was a miracle, the doctor was really shocked himself, anway had to share this fabulous news at 730 am this morning, its basically like Christmas to Justin and I.

Home again Home again!

2009-05-03T20:46:00.002-06:00

Well Ethan and well Justin or I spent a week in the hospital. Ethan came home yesterday, he is breathing much better but still not perfect but i feel he is doing better then when he first came home. So now the plan is to wait and hope that he doesn't get sick and hopefully they won't have to put the trach in. Which means i have to keep Ethan at home away from people. I feel like I haven't been to church in forever which I hate, but its kind of the way it has to be, between my sick kids and me still feeling sick! Hurling at the hospital was a new adventure. Anyway at least my house stayed clean while we were in between home and the hospital. And a major bonus was Justin actually got work off....never has happened! They have been so understanding and nice about Ethan being in the hospital. Anyway that has been such blessing to me, I would seriously be broken if he were not home this week.

2009-04-29T10:03:00.002-06:00

Nothing fun to post. Ethan's surgery went well, they closed his trach site, but he is back in the hospital, it may not have worked, his breathing is not well. He is stable but not ready to come home. I will keep posting. Thanks for all the sweet comments on our pregnancy, which is still going well, and we are really greatful for that! Annie

2009-04-20T09:32:00.002-06:00

We are pregnant! Just thought I would share. I am 12 weeks along and got an ultra sound of the baby last week- good heart beat, non-compliant with ultra sound tech... sounds like a Tanner baby is on the way! I am due Nov 3rd.
Other news Ethan goes in today for possible surgery for his trach stoma that is open, so I will update when we know more. Love to all!

2009-03-02T09:04:00.001-07:00

I somehow deleted all my blog addressess that I had, if you come to this site, please put your blog address on the comments so I can get you back on my website so I can check out your blogs, thanks

2009-03-02T08:38:00.002-07:00

Kaden put the goggles on Ethan.

Ethan's ice cream on the table ended up tasting the best.

One of Ethan's therapists playing with him on his new wheels.

Helping Mom with the dishes.

Kaden is finally having a fun time riding his bike.

Ethan's first bike ride outside, he loved it!

Thanks Justin for the beautiful roses!!

I love Valentine's! The boys got stuffed animals and other trinkets
and of course CANDY!

2009-02-23T20:32:00.003-07:00

I am now officially addicted to Facebook. So the blog has been put on the back burner, but whatever, I have been able to reconnect with people from years ago that I actually want to reconnect with, really fun. Anyway will be posting pics of what I think are the "cutest-boys-on-the-block" Have a great week ya'll (yes I am a texan now, although I do not live there)

2009-01-19T22:06:00.004-07:00

Ethan attempting to say "MOM" as a first!

We are doing fantabulous--- Justin is home!!!! Although he has to study for boards and is doing research, he is home, breakfast, lunch, and dinner!! We have had so much fun, just being together! Top picture is ET eating mac and cheese, second pic is Kaden finally getting his Christmas present from us about a week after Christmas, nice parents huh? The next two pics are the zoo, I took the boys on Saturday while Jusitn was doing some practice tests. The weather is gorgeous, and I just love the zoo with the boys, Kaden can run, Ethan gets to soak up whatever he can in the animal atmosphere and I get to walk around and look at cool animals and beautiful trees and always the big blue colorado sky! Let's see I am reading Sense and Sensibility right now, I am a huge fan of Jane Austen books and any movies made from her books, I have almost read all of her works, but htis is one I have seen the move about 7 times and never read the book, and I am relishing every moment of the book. I know, I am crazy, but I can't help myself I am a sucker for romance and old english writing. The cool things the kiddos have done this month is that Ethan actually is saying Mom, every day and he gives kisses to me and Kaden all day. The video is him attempting mom but now he says Mom all day long, very clearly and directed right at me! He has never said much of anything so this is super amazing! Kaden is like a little chatter box, asking my why about everything and I am super fast about answering. Today I spent 1 hour putting Kaden in time out for hitting me when he didn't get his way....that was way fun, oh, and Ethan's physical therapist was here watching the whole thing!

2008-12-28T20:49:00.003-07:00

We are back on track! And apparently many people I have talked to pretty much had a weird holiday with illness and other not-so-fun things, so hopefully everyone made it through and now we are all ready for the New Year full of better days! Ethan was pretty darn miserable and sickly until I finally called and a nurse from the ENT office suggested maybe a stronger antibiotic, well it worked, and of course the many prayers! He is like a new little red head, all smiles, and oh, the sleep is so precious and great, although poor little Kaden had the stomach flu and woke up hurling through the night a couple nights ago, such is parenthood huh? Thanks heavens for my ward they brought meals, took Kaden for me, it was so much more bearable with their help! Chrismas was a blast at my Aunt's house in Broomfield and Justin got the whole day off, amazing! So I finally took Ethan and Kaden out, after being homebound for a couple weeks. Those are the pictures I posted it is one of my favorite places to take the kids in the winter- the Nature and Science museum

2008-12-17T19:02:00.005-07:00

I have no fun pictures, sorry, I don't bring my camera to the nasty hospital :) So Ethan had surgery on Monday afternoon, we are still in the hospital, he had breathing complications after his surgery, we are in ICU, but he is doing so much better, thank heavens!!! I was ready for a straight-jacket today, but luckily my Mom and Dad are here and gave me a break. Its funny how a nap and a shower can do wonders! I have little tolerance for being in hospitals anymore so the poor nurses and doctors, I just keep saying I can take care of him at home and they are being extra precautious and keeping him here, so I gues that is good thing, although I can't really see it. Justin is working like a dog, but at least there is an end in sight he gets Sunday off, so that will be fun. Thanks for prayers and support, I know Heavenly Father is watching out for our little red head, he is tough and has made it through another big hump. Love ya all and I hope you are all doing really fun Christmas things. At least this weekend we did go to Pro Bass Shops and did some cute holiday stuff.

2008-12-11T20:22:00.001-07:00

We are hanging in over here, we had a great Thanksgiving with my Aunt Jannet(technically she is my dad's cousin) she is so fun to be with and her children are wonderful and so fun to be around, Justin got the whole day off and we had so much fun with there family.. we even had to dance as couples in front of their whole family--very embarrassing, but a blast! Kaden is pushing limits a lot lately, so I just have been going a little crazy, but hanging in, he does and says the most hilarious stuff and then turns around and does these nasty things, oh well, gotta love it, huh? Ethan is doing great too, he has a surgery for taking his tonsils out on MOnday, but I don't know if he is going to be able to get it. He is kind of getting a cough, so who knows, either way my parents are coming in town, I am soo excited! They are even coming to church with us, so I don't have to be alone, yay! We have our tree up and two other christmas decorations... I think that's all I have the energy to put up, oh well, maybe next year I will have more energy to get it all out. Hope you are all well and have wonderful happy holidays!!

2008-11-05T22:58:00.004-07:00

So we went to Utah and Idaho last week, this is a pic of my nephew Logan and my boys at a Halloween party. The boys and I stayed with my sister who is literally 9months pregant, she was so sweet to have us. Justin went fishing with his Dad and we got to eat them when we all met up in Idaho.

Justin's sweet mom, Kathy, she had to dress up as an army chick for her job, we had so much fun, thanks Kathy and Reyne!

Kaden adn his cousin Logan

I was able to meet up with one of the greatest people I know, Candace, she is such a great friend, she lives in Ohio and we just happened to be in Utah at the same time! Miss you Candace, wish we had more time to hangout, we will meet again!

Candace's darling kids Jack and Macie. Jack and Kaden started playing together like they never left eachother :) They used to be little buds(well forced on by their mothers of course).

My sister Heather's children Logan 7 and Wesley 3, love you kiddos!

We also got to see Jana, Justin's darling sister and her cute family. She has Tanner who will be 5 and little twins Peyton and Jayden that are 7 months old. This is Jayden.

This is little Peyton with Jana, miss you Jana, wish we had more time with you too! Hopefully we will next time we come out. Love you my great family on both sides!

Looking back

2008-10-16T23:21:00.004-06:00

Just thought I would add some fun pictures of the boys' over the years. The boys at 3 months old, 1 year old, and 2 years old. Check out the next posting to see all the birthday fun we had when they turned 3 on monday!

Birthday Boys

2008-10-16T22:43:00.010-06:00

Ethan and Kaden turned 3 on October 13th, we had so much fun. I took them to the zoo and it was a perfect day (blue and sunny... thank you Colorado!) hardly anyone was there, that is the pic of the boys and I on the carousel, was so glad a friend called to go, because I wasn't sure what to do with them during the day to celebrate the birthday. Then back at our house the boys and I decorated with balloons and I got a cute "Car's" banner and hats. Then Justin picked up pizza( both of the boys LOVE pizza) and I made some crazy cakes. Kaden blew out the candles like fifty times because Justin kept lighting them. Ethan blew his out in a cool way, we got an innovative button that we hooked up to a fan and when he pushed the button the fan turned on and blew out his candles. Then we opened gifts, the boys got toys and lots of chocolate cake! The picture of Kaden in his pj's and his party hat was classic, he would not take the party hat off and he wanted a picture of him in his pjs with the party hat, so thanks Kaden for that classic, darling picture pose.

Fun stuff

2008-09-18T13:53:00.009-06:00

Fun stuff, here are a couple videos of what we have been up to. We are super sad our dear friends and neighbors moved yesterday, the Myers, the little girl with Kaden is their daughter, Annabelle, they made the game up themselves. The other video is of Ethan with his "manual wheelchair" he is just supposed to try it out to see if he is even interested in pushing himself.

Another fun day in the hospital

2008-09-09T13:49:00.004-06:00

So Ethan went in Monday morning, he was supposed to get his trach hole closed, but, and that is a big but, the doctor found scar tissue in his trachea, or windpipe. This meant if she closed it he would not be able to breath well, she said the size of his windpipe is the size of a newborns. Therefore she wants to wait six months, see if the size has increased because he will have grown, and if not they will have to do airway reconstructive surgery. So needless to say, we generally are disappointed, but its the way it has to be. They at least were able to botox his saliva glands(that is supposed to help stop drooling, because he has excessive drool!). We will see if it helps in the next couple weeks. Now all my plans for the year with no trach hole are shattered, but that is okay, there are much worse things. Hope you all are enjoying the crisp fall weather. Love Annie

Welcome to the new website

2008-09-01T14:11:00.000-06:00

So this is going to be a blast, once I figure out how to use it!!